Prehistoric Park Back From The Ashes Chapter 4:Nala's Herd
There is something missing from our world. The amazing animals that time has left behind. But what if we could bring them back? What if extinction didn't have to be forever. We're going back on a safari with a difference, as wildlife as adventurer Nigel Marven plunges into pre-history to rescue creatures on the brink of extinction. His plan is to bring them back to the safety of the present and give them a second chance. This time on Prehistoric Park, Nigel and Chiyo will go back to the Atlas Mountains to save two of the most symbolic creatures of Africa. But will they do it in time to save Nala? Welcome to the ultimate wildlife sanctuary. Welcome to Prehistoric Park. Chapter 4- Nala's Herd Prehistoric Park has in the past been a place of resurrection, rebirth, and joy. But ever since the injury of Indy, the thievery of two of Cronus and Jane's eggs, and Nala becoming lonely and depressed, the park has had a rather sad mood. Today however, Nigel and Chiyo are rescuing a herd of animals that is sure to cheer everyone up. In front of Nigel was a map of the Atlas Mountains. Behind him, Python was stealthily climbing on top of the counter to get to Nigel's cookie jar. Two Microraptors had built a nest on Nigel's coffee table and now lived comfortably in Nigel's bungalow with their four eggs. "Hello everyone" said the wildlife explorer, time traveler, animal rescuer, and past park manager. "Today, I have a very special mission for Chiyo and us to do. We are going back to the same spot we were when rescuing the Atlas bears, Nala and Tantor, and a Barbary leopard we happened to save, who is still in the park at Holocene Heights, named Spot, only a decade earlier. We plan to rescue a herd of Atlas elephants for Nala in order to save her. But not only that! We also plan to rescue a pack of Barbary lions, a species of lion that is now extinct. Oh, look at the time. I must be going right now." Nigel got out of his chair, just in time to turn around and see Python and the two Microraptors eat the last cookie together. Nigel just shrugged and started walking away. He knew better than to try and stop Python from eating. "I've long stopped trying to get Python to stop eating my food. The more you try to stop him, the more he eats. I have to make a stop at the grocery store on Isla Pena every two days know, thanks to him." Meanwhile at Indominus Prison, the juvenile Indominus is causing trouble for Muldoon. Prehistoric Park's main reason for wanting to rescue the Indominus was it's uniqueness in the Mesozoic world. It was extremely intelligent, bigger than a Tyrannosaurus (size doesn't alway matter though, Cronus still beat Indy), and could turn near invisible. However, those traits can lead to mischief. Muldoon walked around the male Indominus Rex paddock to relax himself. It may seem like a strange place to try and relax, but the males had been as harmless as a fly….so far. The males of the Indominus Rex species were scavengers instead of hunters, living off of the kills that the females made. That didn't mean that they didn't know how to hunt however. The males and females may be the same size, but the males were much more tame and had only caused the occasional bit of trouble where the young one would try and escape. The males, Ido and Domino, had been separated from Indy, who had tried to kill them. Now they lived in the second part of Indominus Prison. Indominus Prison was unique in Prehistoric Park, as it used six story high concrete walls to contain the Indominuses. It was in the shape of a bowl and split into two. The insides of each section had a stream, small lake, and tropical rainforest. Muldoon stopped at a clearing in the male paddock where the big male was snoring away. Muldoon just had the time to wonder where the little one was before a pale shape the size of a man seemed to appear out of nowhere came out from the bushes next to him and tackled him down. Muldoon had time to think 'uh oh' before the young male Indominus, Domino, grabbed him by his shirt, lifted him to his feet, then pushed him down with his again. The park had name him Domino because the species name had 'dominus' in it. They also named him that because of his trait to knock staff down, pick them up again, and knock them down again, like a domino, repeating this cycle over and over again. Muldoon knew better than to try and stand up and run away. This game would go on until Domino simply lost interest or someone new entered the enclosure. This would go on for hours and hours if Domino was in the mood. Muldoon just sighed before Domino knocked him down yet again. Sometimes, Muldoon hated just hated kids. While Mudoon is stuck in Indominus Prison with Prehistoric Park's most playful predator, Nigel has taken a detour from the Sorna holding pens in order to visit Nala before going to rescue a herd for her. Nala stood with her back to the tree until Nigel was right behind her. he touched her to try and get her attention, but she kept on looking at the tree. She only reacted when Chiyo, Maria, or Jordan touched her, and even then, she would only stop looking at the tree for a few moments. "Come on Nala, cheer up. Chiyo and I are going to get some elephant friends for you. And maybe some more animals." Nigel walked out of the enclosure and passed Tantor, who had recovered significantly since Chiyo had started bonding with him. He even gave Nigel a friendly trumpet to Nigel before spraying him with water. The water felt good during the Costa Rican summer. Nigel hopped onto the nearest monorail before coming to a stop at Bahariya Formation, the closest area to the holding pens on Sorna. From there on, he walked to the holding pens, occasionally stopping to look into the enclosure: the enclosure with Ramses in it, the enclosure with the Paralititan herd in it, the enclosure with the Carcharodontosaurus, and the enclosure with the mated Spinosaurus pair. Finally, he reaches a large gate that has the bold red words Staff Only on it. Nigel grabbed a key ring that had dozens of keys on it from his pocket and flicked through the keys for several minutes before finding the one he wants. He opened the gate and closed it behind him. Several buildings were in the staff zone and a short walk away were the Sorna holding pens where Chiyo waited for Nigel with a backpack full of gear. "Are you ready now Nigel?" she asked. "Yes Chiyo, I'm ready, but we need to find this herd fast. I don't think Nala can wait much longer for us to bring back a herd for her. We can't postpone this mission any longer" Chiyo nodded in agreement and the two walked with a team that through the time portal. The Atlas Mountain Range is in Northern Africa, an area that is now devoid of most of it's large wildlife, including elephants, lions, rhinoceros, bears, and even Aurochs. While bears and elephants have already been rescued, more will join them today. The crew walked onto a plains area on the foot of the mountain range. A river came down from the mountains and onto the plains. Near the base of a mountain was a herd of cows that looked like scaled down, golden Aurochs. Nigel beamed once his eyes fell upon them. He gave a laugh of happiness once a he saw a herd of wild donkeys walking down the mountain to it's more lush base. An Atlas bear was already at the base, foraging for grubs, berries, and roots. "We have just come here and we already have seen three extinct species!" Nigel said in obvious happiness. "The cows over there that look like Aurochs are indeed a subspecies of Aurochs. They are the North African Aurochs, the smallest subspecies. The wild donkey species over there is a herd of Atlas Wild Ass, an extinct species of equine. I wish we could rescue them, but Nala is first priority right now." "Nigel, I can go get them" said Chiyo. "I want to go and rescue them. We can split up and rescue the animals. I'll get the horses and cows, you get the cats and elephants." Before he could say anything, she started running towards the herds, at least two miles away. "I'll admit, Chiyo has spirit" said Nigel. "Well, it'll do Nala no good if we just sit here. Let's check along the river. There's bound to be animals there." While Nigel and Chiyo rescue the animals of the Atlas, Bob must take care of some of the current residents of Prehistoric Park. "Slow down or he won't catch up" yelled Bob from the back of a truck. It was feeding time for the creatures of Red Beds, the area of Isla Sorna that held a number of animals from the early Permian period. It's residents included Seymouria, two species of Edaphosaurus, Dimetrodon, and the beast they were feeding now: Sphenacodon. "We usually feed me the Sphenacodon and Dimetrodon in the morning so that they're a bit sluggish. Sometimes they'll have some oomph in them, but for the most part, they're slow in the mornin. What were doing is that we have a large chunk of meat back here and the predators have to chase us like they would for normal prey. Once the predators start biting the truck or grabbing on to it, we throw the meat out and they leave us alone. We have to do this three times a week with these animals." The Sphenacodon was doing a small jog after the truck several meters away. Bob turned his head away for a moment to yell at the driver. Once he turned his head to the Sphenacodon, it was doing a run faster than the car and almost on top of them. "DRIVE AWAY!" yelled Bob from behind. He threw the chunk of meat out and the car sped away. The Sphenacodon had stopped for the meat, but there was no guarantee that the beast wouldn't still follow them. The sped out of the exhibit and stopped to look at the one just in time to see the carnivore joined by others of it's kind. "Well" said Bob. "Just another day at work." In the Atlas Mountains, Chiyo has reached her destination. Whether for better or for worse, is another matter. Chiyo had stopped in front of the herd and set the portal up. She had planned to get behind the herd and play a recorded Tyrannosaurus roar, but the alpha male of the herd had other ideas. Just as Chiyo had finished setting up the portal, the male bellowed at her. It sounded like a bison. When she didn't move, the male charged at her. Chiyo quickly jumped out of the way and got the portal remote. Once the male charged at her once more, she opened the remote, which caused the male to disappear. Seeing the leader go through, the rest of the herd followed. Chiyo smiled as she closed the portal, until she saw something ahead. It was a Roman chariot. Inside were men wearing purple capes, a symbol of royalty or wealth in Roman society. They appeared to be looking for something. But that was not what got Chiyo's attention. What got her attention were the recently skinned lion cloaks on the back of the chariot. In the grass ahead, something moved, which broke her concentration on the chariot. She prepared for a everything from an angry warthog to a spitting cobra. What she didn't prepare for was three baby Barbary lions tumbling through the grass. They were skinny and we're making pitiful mews, possibly calling for their mother. She had likely been killed by the Romans. "Poor things" Chiyo said. "Their mother most likely got killed by those Romans. People still do this today. Hunting was a popular pastime in Roman culture and wearing a lion skin cloak was a symbol of importance, wealth, and power. They probably ignored these cubs because they were too small, so they left them out here to die. We've gotta save them!" Chiyo quickly grabbed all three cubs, ignoring the biting and scratching as best she could, and ran back into the twenty-first century to get the Cubs to Suzanne. She ran through the holding pens, hearing the Aurochs mooing away, and got into the closest keep and drove to the veterinary clinic. She hurriedly explained what had happened to the lions in the Atlas, told Suzanne to nurse them back to health, and rushed back to the holding pens. She was afraid that the Romans would get to the Atlas wild ass and catch or kill them. She ran back on to the plains and three quarters of the way to the mountain nearly ran into a lion. The lion jumped back and roared, showing it's impressive teeth. Not very big by the standards of the animals back in Prehistoric Park, but still impressive. It was a young male with a rather large mane and golden pelt. "Don't make any sudden moves" said Chiyo quietly. She was pulling out a portal grenade. "After a certain age, young males are kicked out of their prides and forced to find or start a new one. This one was probably coming to try and take over the pride that was killed. Well, this guy is in for a shocker." With that, she pulled the cap off the portal grenade and threw it at the snarling lion. In a flash of blue, the big cat disappeared. "Well, that's what happens in your typical Prehistoric Park rescue mission: you almost get killed." Meanwhile, as Chiyo deals with big bovines and carnivorous cats, Nigel has found Nala's new herd. Although they'll have to be careful about some of the other natives. The team had hiked along the river for well over three miles and finally found a herd of Atlas elephants. However, they were across the river, where an Atlas bear was foraging nearby and a pride of lions were watching them. "We've finally found our targets" said Nigel in happiness. "Nala's new herd is just across the river, along with the Barbary lions. We can hit two birds with one stone if we do this correctly. All we have to do is get across the river now. I usually wouldn't do this, but Nala is on the verge and if we take our time, we might lose her. We've got to go across the river. The riverways of Africa are filled with dangerous animals. Venomous snakes, crocodiles, hippopotamus, and tiger fish are just a few of the deadly creatures that call these waterways home. The waters of any time period almost make the land seem tame. The crew managed to successfully get through the water safely and were walking around the elephant herd. However, they hadn't paid attention to the Atlas bear, who was now charging towards them. "Run" yelled Nigel, as he ran toward the elephant herd, possibly a case of out of the pan and into the fire. The elephants at first didn't care about them as they ran through the herd. As soon as the Atlas bear got to the herd though, the elephants started waving their heads around, showing their massive ears, trunks, and tusks. The bear stopped and reared back on it's back legs, roaring. However, when the matriarch joined the rest, the bear ran away…. straight towards the lions. The Barbary lions darted West, into tall golden grass that could easily camouflage them. The crew tried to go after them, but the pride was already a speck in the distance. On another note, the Atlas bear was still outside, waiting for the humans to leave the safety of the herd. "We can scare the bear away with my flare gun, but then it would also scare the elephants as well" said Nigel. "Wait, you know, I think I'll use that to our advantage." Carefully not going too far away from the herd, Nigel placed the portal firmly in the ground. Then he got to the near back of the herd and shot a flare gun at the Atlas bear. The sudden flash of red light spooked the herd and scared the bear away and the herd stampeded through the portal. Through the portal, Nigel heard Bob yelling for someone to open a holding pen and saw Nick eating a bag of chips next to the control panel while watching the elephants stampede by. Nick wasn't exactly a bad employee anymore, though he wasn't exactly perfect. For example, he still messed around and every once in a while made things difficult, but at least he had stopped harassing the animals and staff. Nigel closed the portal and looked around for the bear. Once satisfied that the bear was gone, the crew started hiking in the direction of the lion pride. "Well, that sure was exciting" said Nigel. "I was expecting a more aggressive reaction from the herd, but that works too. Although I am disappointed that we lost the lions." "Should we get a jeep to follow them Nigel?" asked a member of the team called Ben. "No. We can't risk being seen. We can follow them on foot, but I just hope no one sees us. Or else things could get difficult." At Prehistoric Park, Nick has been sent to care of a group of teenagers that had somehow gotten themselves into one of the park's newest enclosures: Ostrich Oasis. "Hey" yelled Nick from a distance away. The teenagers were doing one of the dumbest things that Nick had ever done in his career: trying to feed the animals crisps. The ostriches were poking the heads into the bags, investigating this strange new food source. One boy looked up and yelled "Keeper!" before trying to run away. The sudden loud noise and movement startled the Arabian ostriches and they started to make a semi-circle around the kids. Nick knew what was coming. He had seen what a Moa had done to Ed Regis. One ostrich darted forward and kicked a boy in the gut, while the rest pecked the other teenagers with their dull, but hard beaks. The teens tried in vain to run away, but they seemed to forget that they were ostriches, one of the fastest land animals on Earth. When he saw the birds chasing the teens, Nick pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the leader of the group, who had just kicked the boy and was now chasing the others. He remembered Jordan say something about hitting a bird and getting a prize. Nick hoped that he would get a prize for this. He shot the tranquilizer and the leader suddenly pitched forward and collapsed. The rest of the group stopped and surrounded the leader in a loose circle. Once Nick tucked his gun away and turned to the teens, they were gone. Nick sighed. They didn't pay him enough for this. He hoped his prize would be a raise. Chiyo has finally reached the mountain and thought of a plan to catch the wild ass along the way. It was the same way that they had saved multiple herbivores in the past and among the simplest. Chiyo stood in front of the swirling portal, holding a branch in front of the leader of the herd. They were grey with a few faint white stripes here and there. The manes were black and so were their tails. Wild asses and donkeys of today are temperamental and it seemed that extinct ones were no different. The leader reared up on his back legs and kicked his hooves in the air aggressively. Chiyo managed to to get him to chase her through the portal, which resulted in the rest of the herd chasing her as well. She ran through the holding pens, the equines now uncertain whether or not to chase her anymore, now that she had brought them to an unfamiliar environment. "Someone get these guys in a holding pen" she called to a woman next to the holding pen control panel. Just then, Bob walked in and observed what had been brought back. Chiyo heard elephants trumpeting, which meant Nigel had already saved Nala's herd. "Well done, Chiyo" Bob called from above. Today, I only have to deal with cows, donkeys, and elephants. Oh, and the lions." Just then, the portal flared to life. What was Nigel bringing back this time? Meanwhile in Africa, Nigel and the team have caught up to their lions. But they have come across more surprises. The lions napped in the shade of an acacia tree, with one or two sleepily watching a crash of rhinos in front of the crew. "It appears that we've found a herd of black rhinoceros, Nigel." said Ben. "But I don't recognize the subspecies. Are they an extinct one, Nigel?" "Yes. They indeed are an extinct subspecies. This is a crash of the extinct North-Eastern Black Rhinoceros. They use to live in Northern parts of Africa, all the way to Ethiopia. They'll eventually be hunted to extinction, making them a prime candidate for Prehistoric Park residency. All we need is a plan. Wait a minute, what are those?" A herd of antelope was walking by the rhinos. Each was the size of a small horse and had a red coat. The horns were splayed and they seemed to have no fear of the humans, some even walking feet away from them. "Yet another extinct species. These are Bubal hartebeest, an extinct hartebeest subspecies. Scientists believe that they were domesticated by the Egyptians or at least used as a sacrificial animal, since so many of their bones have been found near the ancient Egyptian cities and towns. I believe that we'll be able to rescue all three species at the same time. Wait, what is that?" A Roman chariot was barreling toward the rhinos and antelope at an astonishing rate. A man was at the front, yelling and waving a sword. The antelope saw the man approaching and started a stampede, startling the rhinos as well. The antelope and rhinos ran away towards the river together. Nigel saw this as an opportunity. Nigel quickly ran in front of the herd and set up the portal and activated it, sending both the rhinoceros and antelope to go into the future and to safety of the holding pens. The Roman stopped the chariot and turned around to run away, yelling something. "Whew. Glad that's over" said Nigel. Now, back to the lio... run through the portal!" The crew ran through the portal with the lion pride on their tails. The flash of the portal had attracted them into investigate the team. Now it seemed that they were hungry. The pride ran after the crew, eager for a bite of them. As soon as the lions are taken care of Bob, Nigel, and Chiyo all head to the Nala's enclosure on Holocene Heights, with several trucks behind them carrying the new animals. Bob gave the signal and the first two trucks entered the enclosure, depositing the herd of North African Aurochs. The herd burst through the doors and instantly started grazing once settled. Nala perked up seeing the bovines come into her enclosure, but still stood where she was before. Bob signaled for the next three trucks to come in and deposit their cargo. The first of the three opened, with a crash of rhinos charging out. Nala this time left here spot and started walking slowly towards the animals. "It's working" said Chiyo excitedly. "Release the hartebeest, Bob." Bob gave another hand signal and the two other trucks opened, giving the Bubal hartebeest access to the enclosure. They immediately ran out and disappeared over the crest of a hill. Only five trucks remained now. Bob signaled and a new truck came in and released the Atlas wild ass herd. Instead of rushing out like all the other animals, they walked out in a more orderly fashion, like they didn't have a care in the world. Nala started trumpeting in happiness as the Tunisian plain exhibit became filled with herbivores from her former habitat. Finally, Bob signaled for four new trucks to come in. An elephant trumpet came from inside and Nala froze. She trumpeted at the truck and got a trumpet in return. The trucks opened and the elephants walked out, slowly at first, but becoming more comfortable as they got out. Nala slowly walked toward the matriarch of the herd with her trunk raised. The matriarch saw her and raised her trunk in reply. "This is good" said Chiyo. "The matriarch is accepting her. The rest of the herd should accept her if the matriarch does." The elephants started walking away, Nala with them, over the hill where the hartebeest had disappeared over. Nala looked back once at the spot where she had stood for so long. Then she continued to follow the elephant herd. Meanwhile at the grocery store on Isla Pena... Python had somehow gotten through the security and to the monorail with the two Microraptors and we're looking down the desserts aisle. Python immediately set upon the chocolate cookies with the two feathered creatures and tucked in. It was time for dinner. Or should I say dessert. The staff of Prehistoric Park were all going to have a big headache. After the Barbary lion pride, the young adult male (who was named Scar), and the three cubs (named Simba, Cynder, and Cider) have all been placed in their respective enclosures. Simba, Cynder, and Cider were all inside a small yard that had been built for them. A golden retriever named Goldilocks had been selected as their surrogate mother. All four now were napping under the shade of a tree to escape the Costa Rican heat. Scar had been given a small, off exhibit area where he could live in peace. Eventually, he would start to become more aggressive and a pack of females would need to be rescued for him. But for now, he stalked the grasses, looking for prey that wasn't there. The pack was resting in a savanna area just across from the Tunisian Herbivore Plains exhibit. The pride consisted of a male and five females. The male had been named Barnaby, while the females were Bailey, Basha, Britney, Britain, and Bobo. The entire pack was on a tall limestone rock, looking at the herbivores in the area over, some even licking their mouths. For now, Prehistoric Park was happy once more. Nala had started eating once more, more animals had been rescued, and Python was eating even more than Nala. But one resident was still not happy... Cronus stood over the nest, looking after his last remaining egg. It was almost time for it to hatch. Cronus roared at the night sky, an angry sound that made the other Tyrannosaur roars quiet in comparison. Next time on Prehistoric Park, the crew go to Cretaceous Madagascar to rescue cannibals, fish hunters, giant frogs, and feathered dinosaurs. (a theropod eats a younger one of it's own kind) Has the BioSyn man's legacy snapped Cronus? (Cronus slams Indy's head into a concrete wall, knocking her unconscious) And what has happened to the Caribbean monk seals? (Suzanne operates on a sick monk seal) Find out next time on Prehistoric Park. Animals Rescued in this Chapter: 21 Bubal Hartebeest: 11 males, 10 females 9 Atlas Elephants: 9 females 10 Barbary Lions: 3 males, 7 females 30 North African Aurochs: 14 males, 16 females 12 Atlas Wild Ass: 4 males, 8 females 5 North-Eastern Black Rhinoceros: 2 males, 3 females Category:Episodes